Eide to hold separate meetings with both leaders

Eide to hold separate meetings with both leaders

UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser for Cyprus Espen Barth Eide is back on the island to meet separately with both Cypriot community leaders, Nicos Anastasiades and Mustafa Akinci on Monday.

According to Greek Cypriot state radio, Eide will be meeting Anastasiades at 10.30am and Akinci at 2.30pm.

Eide is preparing a report on the failed negotiations at Crans-Montana, Switzerland and will discuss this with the two leaders.

It is also anticipated that Eide may have to take some flak from the Greek Cypriot side, and Athens, over his recent statements about events at the Crans-Montana meeting and which some believe unfairly favour the Turkish side.

In an interview with Greek-Cypriot daily ‘Politis’, Eide suggested that Turkey had put forward a proposal concerning guarantees that could have been acceptable to the Greek Cypriot side, something both Athens and [South] Nicosia deny.

Eide had said that it was not true that at conference’s final dinner meeting, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu had said he would never discuss the removal of guarantees.

Greek Cypriot Government Spokesman Nicos Christodoulides has already asked Eide to explain Cavusoglu’s July 11 statements that it was “not possible” for Turkey to accept a “foolish proposal” to remove the right of intervention and a suspension of guarantees as well as scheduled removal of Turkish troops from Cyprus.